Throne of Lies
by yangri
Summary: Why are we all so mean? In which Kageyama, Kunimi, and Kindaichi manage to make up thanks to an outside force. Kitaichi fix-it fic.


_**A/N: A Kitagawa Daiichi fix-it fic. Because I can and I will. These boys deserved better. OC is involved, but not too important.**_

* * *

The whispers are everywhere—unavoidable and unrelenting. Shiroma wonders how anyone could deal with it all—it must be heartbreaking, listening to rumors circulating around you. Ever since the beginning of her third year in junior high, there's a boy in her grade who's been bearing the brunt of their peers' criticism. His name is everywhere, because the whispers are everywhere.

He's in her class, but she's never talked to him before. She has her own social circle, and he has his—even if its bare and dry.

They are social opposites, too—she isn't sure if he even has a single friend, while she has those in abundance.

During lunchtime, she goes to the cafeteria, and he goes to the volleyball court.

"Yubin!" Only her friends call her by her Korean first name. She smiles as she sits down at the table in the centre of the mess hall. It's a nice place to sit—nobody ever bothers with them, because people know that they will only lose if confrontation happens.

"Ew," Shiroma says, wrinkling her nose at the bento that her best friend, Yoneda Erina, has sitting on the table. "What is _that_?"

Yoneda sniffs. "My mom made it for me. You think all seafood is gross, but it's not."

"Yes it_ is_."

Giggling circulates around their table of seven or eight girls as the thrill of lunchtime gets into full swing. All Shiroma's brought today is a small, cold bowl of chicken katsu curry that she bought from the convenience store.

"Oh my gosh, did you hear?" Amane Kimiko spills halfway through lunch. "Apparently Chujo-chan from class 1-3 is dating a _high school boy_."

"What, Chujo-chan?! I've seen her before—she's plain as rice, haha! How did she get a boyfriend before me?"

"If she keeps eating like she is now, she'll look like a pig."

"I wonder if her boyfriend is cute?"

Shiroma tunes out the chatter. It's not that she finds gossip and mean-spirited remarks uninteresting, but someone else has been on her mind lately, and she can't help but think of him. The rumors and vicious words that surround him are too intriguing for her _not_ to think about.

"Yubin," Yoneda says excitedly. "When's your dad's next drama coming out?"

"Oh, you know," Shiroma drawls, pretending to examine her nails as she holds back a smirk. "The usual. Apparently, the female lead is having some problems with putting on a compelling performance, so it may be pushed back into next year."

All the girls groan. It's a well-known fact that Shiroma's father is none other than Park Chang-ho, a famous Korean actor quite popular across the Asian region for his stunning k-drama performances. Shiroma knows it's partially why they're friends with her—to get the latest gossip about her father and his coworkers before the magazines do.

"What would your dad say if you he saw you eating such shitty lunch?" Amane clicks her tongue, pointing her chopsticks at Shiroma's convenience store food.

Shiroma shrugs. "Nothing. Besides, it's yummy."

Another half-truth, but Shiroma can never be completely honest within this band of snakes. She knows they're two-faced, if only because she has learned to be, too.

After all, Shiroma Yubin, with her groomed silver hair and grey eyes, is an observer and a commentator—not an instigator of trouble or a victim of gossip.

While her friends talk about somebody else's business, Shiroma notices that the table that the boy's volleyball team usually sit at is empty today. _Ah, right, _she remembers as she sips on her juice box. _They have a tournament coming up, don't they?_

The bottom of her juice box collapses within itself when she sucks on the straw too hard. Standing, she announces, "Be right back. I'm gonna get another juice."

The vending machines are near the volleyball gym. As she presses the button for a new juice box, she can see glimpses the boys practicing hard inside. There's no rule forbidding her from watching—she knows that there are students who do watch from the balconies—so she sticks the straw into her drink and heads on inside.

Kitagawa Daiichi's boy's volleyball coach is a thin-faced man who doesn't seem to do anything but frown.

She takes the stairs up to where the other observes are and talks to the first person she sees, who is a mousy girl with brown hair. "Hey, you. What's kickin'?"

"Oh my gosh," the mousy girl's friend whispers harshly to her. "Shiroma-san's talking to you!"

"Uh—um," the mousy girl stutters out.

"Come on, talk," Shiroma complains. "I'm getting fossilized from all this waiting."

"I-I'm sorry..." The girl whose name Shiroma can't be bothered to learn looks down at the court. All three of them can practically sense the tension stewing down there. "I think they're having an argument about Kageyama Tobio..."

"Ugh, what do you mean you think, huh? Don't you know anything?"

When the girl just cowers, Shiroma rolls her eyes. "Useless." With that, she leaves the court. There's nothing to be gleaned from here, though she does wonder why the coach doesn't intervene with their team's obvious grating on each other's nerves.

The next class is math, and Shiroma shoots discreet looks at Kageyama the whole time, very careful not to be noticed. The boy has an entire rumor mill surrounding him, and she has to be careful not to be caught up in his mess.

She does, though, pity him. He is a friendless boy in a vicious school—all middle schools are ruthless one way or another; they're at the age where 'being mean' starts being acceptable. Shiroma understands and accepts it and indulges in it, too—but she isn't sure if he does. He just seems so... socially inept.

"Kageyama," their teacher says sharply when he catches Kageyama dozing off. He does it sitting down, too, which is actually pretty impressive. "If you find it appropriate to sleep through my class, then I suppose you can help me solve this problem in my book? The very same one that nobody managed to do from last week's homework?"

Kageyama jolts in his seat. "What?"

Snickering.

"I said come up here and do this question for me, Kageyama. _Now_."

Shiroma's gaze follows Kageyama's figure as he walks up to the board, uncertainty written all over his face. Their math teacher is a merciless man—intolerant of laziness, chatter, and stupidity—and a harsh marker to boot. The only reason she's getting consistent eighties in his class is because of the tutor her father hired last term.

As expected, Kageyama just stands there dumbly with chalk in his hand.

"Well?" their teacher prompts. "We don't have all day, _Kageyama_."

The students are beginning to whisper, but the teacher doesn't scold them. In fact, he seems satisfied at some of the things Kageyama's peers are saying.

"He's so dumb."

"Can you believe it?"

"They call him the King, but it's obviously not because of his math skills, haha."

"Idiot."

Shiroma hums thoughtfully. _How strange, that everybody says these things. Wasn't it just a few days ago we were all complaining about sensei not being able to teach us this question properly? _The small smile on her face grows a little somber. _We... really are mean, aren't we? All of us. Nobody's innocent_—_and if they are, then they're screwed._

Kageyama's fist clenches. "I don't know," he says. "I don't know how to do this."

"Tch." Their teacher scoffs. "Sit down. Because of this, I'll be assigning the class an additional exercise that you are all to complete by tomorrow."

She practically feels the resentment they have toward Kageyama grow by ten-fold.

"Yes, sensei," they all grumble.

It's after school, and Shiroma is packing up her English things, when Kageyama gets heckled down the hallway. He always leaves first to get to volleyball practice earlier.

"Hey, King! How does it feel to be a dumbass?" someone calls.

"Is it true? Do they really call you King because you're such a tyrant on the court?"

To Kageyama's credit, he ignores them with seemingly effortless ease. Shiroma raises a brow. Then, texting her friends to tell them to go to karaoke and meet cute boys without her, she follows Kageyama.

**[Yubin]:** Promising some juicy gossip next time we see each other, go without me! ≧◡≦

**[Kimiko]:** it better be good!

**[Erina]:** ditto on what Kimiko said

Shiroma thinks of what sorts of lies to tell her friends as she follows an unwitting Kageyama to practice, because she doesn't intend to make things worse for him. He's piqued her curiosity, and she wants to get to the bottom of all this 'King' business.

It's when she starts witnessing—really witnessing—his behavior on the court from her vantage point on the balcony that things start to become clear. "Tyrant, huh?" she muses. "No wonder they hate you... Do you even care?" _I know I would. He's basically bombing his social life, the weirdo. Does... he even realize?_

The two boys that glare at Kageyama the most are who stick out to Shiroma the most. One is more subtle about his loathing while the other is unapologetic with his pointed staring.

She knows them from elementary school—their names are Kunimi Akira and Kindaichi Yuutarou. In fact, she even remembers spreading a childish rumor about the latter boy in fifth grade—that he wore girl's panties. He had burst into tears on the playground because of it once.

She doubts that he ever found out it was her who caused him so much grief.

"Is that Shiroma-san...?" she hears some girls twittering behind her. "We should leave..."

Shiroma effortlessly scares off anyone else who has come to watch the boys practice. It's just her on the balcony now. She gives Kunimi an arch look when he glances up at the empty balcony, daring him to say anything about it. Wisely, he doesn't.

"Faster!" Kageyama snaps when Kindaichi misses the ball he tosses.

Kindaichi grits his teeth but doesn't say anything.

Shiroma doesn't know if Kageyama notices, but pretty much the entire team—plus the coach—are glaring daggers at him now. But why aren't they saying anything to make their displeasure known? To nip the problem in the bud?

The same thing can be applied to a lot of school drama that Shiroma can think of.

Instead of communicating like levelheaded people, why do they let unpleasant feelings stew and expect the problem to be corrected—only to be more resentful when it isn't?

It's something that Shiroma ponders about a lot, because she can see herself in them, too. It sounds too simple to be true sometimes, but it essentially boils down to this: _Why are we all so mean?_

Practice ends with everyone having a dark cloud over their heads.

"Coach!" Kageyama bows to him. "Can I stay for extra practice?!"

The thin-faced coach nods stiffly. "Do whatever you want."

How callous of him, Shiroma thinks. Just like everyone else in this school.

"Typical of the King," Kindaichi says loudly—loud enough for Shiroma to catch from her position. "Always looking for new ways to force his reign on the people."

Kageyama scowls at him—there is hurt and confusion in his eyes, but nobody notices. "Because I seem to be the only one who wants to _win_."

"I, I, I! It's always _I_ with you—"

"That's enough, Kindaichi," Kunimi says quietly. "We're going home. Let the King practice if he so wants before he chops your head off."

That gets a few laughs from the team, and the tension seems to ease up a little at the expense of Kageyama. Kunimi is clever, Shiroma decides. Clever enough to know how to break the tension by using a common enemy as a scapegoat.

They all leave, and it's only Kageyama and Shiroma in the gym now. Alone, Kageyama practices his jump serves. He's not very good at them—it's probably why he sticks to a normal overhead serve during the practice matches.

Shiroma goes downstairs and sits on the bench for a closer look. Kageyama glances at her once, baffled, but continues with his serving.

It's almost relaxing. Just the rhythmic thumping of the ball hitting the court.

"Hey, King," she calls to him, just to test his reaction.

He's visibly irked. "Don't call me that!" he snaps.

"Why? Do you hate it? Doesn't it feel good to be a king?"

Kageyama stares at her. Then he looks away and keeps serving.

"If you hate it so much," Shiroma continues, "Then why do you keep giving them reason to call you that? It's spread to the rest of the school, you know. Everybody hates you now. I'm willing to bet kids from other schools even know it."

"I don't care," Kageyama says as he punches another serve. It hits the net. He's lying. "It's their fault they can't keep up with me."

"Look, I don't know much about volleyball, but isn't it—y'know—a _team_ sport?" Her tone is sarcastic, and she hopes he can finally grasp what's been happening to him.

"We _are_ a team."

"No, you're a bunch of individuals who don't know what to do with one another."

Kageyama's next serve hits the net. "What do you mean?"

"Are you seriously that dense?"

It's refreshing, actually. Despite his brash and generally abrasive personality, Kageyama Tobio has no hidden intentions or ulterior motives. Shiroma can tell that much, because she's normally full of them. But she's feeling strangely honest today, and she knows it's because of him.

"What do you mean?" Kageyama just asks again, glaring at her. "Of course we're a team."

"Then why does everyone hate you?"

"They don't hate me!"

Shiroma blinks as Kageyama suddenly breaks, tears welling up in his eyes. He's suffering, she realizes, her gut twisting. Of _course_ he's suffering. Suffering from all those barbed words and sneering faces. Calmly, she says, "Yes they do. They hate you because you don't want to listen to them."

"_They_ won't listen to _me_."

She shrugs. "Communication is generally a two-way street. And you all suck at it. But don't worry, everyone else does, too. Why do you think rumors and gossip exist?"

For once, Kageyama pauses and really looks at her. The ball falls out of his hands. "... I just want our team to win. Because we're good, and we deserve to."

"You expect too much from them. Why don't you just give them an easier toss?"

"Because then the blockers will catch us!"

She doesn't know enough about volleyball to argue that, so she simply asks, "Can't you just go around? Like," Shiroma makes a hitting motion with her arm, "Have one guy pretending to be hitting it but another guy actually hits it?"

"Decoys?"

"Uh, sure."

Kageyama starts serving again. "We have that, but it's not enough."

"Isn't it? Maybe it would be if there was trust. Even I have that. I can't imagine living without it."

Shiroma leaves Kageyama this afternoon with seeds of doubt in his mind.

* * *

Kindaichi is sick of Kageyama. He's sick of being yelled at, he's sick of being left in the dust, and he's sick of being treated like his efforts amount to nothing. In the middle of class, he glares at the back of Kunimi's head so hard that the boy actually turns around and arches an eyebrow.

At lunch, they head down to practice.

"What's eating at you?" Kunimi asks as they get changed in the locker rooms.

"Kageyama," Kindaichi spits. "Or should I say His Highness Kageyama?"

"It's funny, isn't it? Never thought he would turn out like this. I wonder if he knows nobody likes him."

"He deserves it," Kindaichi says vehemently.

"What—to be hated?"

"_Yes_."

Kunimi gives him a look. "You sure are bitter about this."

"So? You are, too."

"Not to the same extent as you. It's like he personally wronged you or something."

"He _has_. He's done nothing but me down—_put all of us down_—ever since third year started. No, before that, even! Since end of second year, at least!"

Kunimi hums. "Yeah, I guess. Hey," he changes the subject, "Did you see Shiroma-san watching our practice yesterday?"

"What?" Kindaichi's eyes widen before he cringes. "Oh god... I wonder what she's saying about us... We're so disjointed and—"

"Why do you even care about what she thinks?"

"Of course I care! She could destroy our team's reputation!"

Kindaichi knows better than anyone how dangerous Shiroma is. She probably doesn't know, but Kindaichi is fully aware that it was her who started the underwear rumor in fifth grade. And while he's bitter about it, he's more wary of her than resentful. She's not to be crossed if Kindaichi wants his social life to come out intact. He says as much, and Kunimi responds with, "So you don't want to end up like Kageyama?"

"Huh?"

"He's probably too dense to realize, but he has zero social life because of us," Kunimi states nonchalantly.

Kindaichi looks down at the jersey in his hands before slipping it on. "Yeah," he says gruffly. "Kageyama is the _last_ person I want to be."

"Enough about Kageyama," Kunimi says quietly, and Kindaichi shuts up just as Kageyama himself walks in. The setter doesn't look at them—merely goes over to his own corner to change as fast as he can. It's like he wants to get away from them as fast as possible.

"It is strange that Shiroma-san showed up," Kindaichi continues the conversation like Kageyama isn't there. "Why would she come? Girls like her have no interest in sports. Just _gossip_."

"She was probably fishing for just that." Kunimi's gaze slides over to Kageyama, and Kindaichi understands. He's tempted to goad him, but Shiroma's mysterious presence is more pressing at the moment.

When they jog out onto the court, Shiroma is up on the balcony again, her grey gaze making Kindaichi sweat before the practice match they have against Kosen Gakuen.

"Pay attention," Kunimi hisses when Kindaichi forgets to bow to the opposing team.

"Ah, sorry!" Hastily, he rectifies his mistake, flushing in embarrassment.

The teams get sorted out—Kindaichi glowers at Kageyama when he catches the other boy giving him a strange look. He waits for a disparaging remark to come out from their team's tyrant, but there's nothing. Unusual, but it probably doesn't mean anything.

Kousen's team is set to serve first. Kindaichi and Kageyama are side by side at the front—Kageyama's in the centre, while Kindaichi's on his left. Once they win a point, the rotation will allow them to make their better plays. He will never admit it aloud, but Kindaichi is a little nervous. Because he knows that he'll never be able to hit Kageyama's impossible tosses—_no one can_—and that will mean Kageyama hurling derision and yelling at him to move faster for the whole match.

To make matters worst, one of Kitaichi's mean girls is going to watch him flub.

Kindaichi doesn't understand them. It's like they're mean just for the sake of being mean—nobody will ever catch _him_ behaving like them. He's only mean when the situation calls for it—just like with Kageyama. Because Kageyama _deserves_ this.

When Kindaichi barely tips Kageyama's toss over the net, he hisses angrily through his teeth, bracing himself for the inevitable.

Kageyama starts his usual rant. "Why didn't you—" Then, to Kindaichi's shock, he cuts himself off. A conflicted look that Kindaichi has never seen on him before crosses his features. He turns away. "Can you move faster?" he asks, calmly.

Kindaichi splutters. "Wha—of course not! Your tosses are freakin' impossible!"

Like he's spitting out a hairball, Kageyama says, "Then... what do you want me to do?"

He's not the only one shocked. The rest of the team are ogling the strange interaction—even Kunimi looks surprised. Kindaichi swallows. "A slower toss further back from the net."

"Okay."

And that's that.

Later, when Kindaichi looks up at the balcony, Shiroma is smirking.

He turns away from her. He can worry about her later—Kageyama's breaking of character has him stumped. He cannot reevaluate the profile he's made of the King based on this one non-hostile confrontation—it's just a fluke, probably.

Probably.

* * *

Kunimi doesn't like school. He doesn't mind the classes or the teachers, but he despises the students. Or, well, most of them anyway. Kindaichi is a good friend, and the rest of his team (besides the obvious) is _okay_.

It sounds awfully childish of him to generalize and say, but everyone he's ever crossed paths with here is a massive hypocrite. They'd all make terribly good politicians if they play their cards right, but he can see through them all. He can see aspects of them reflected in himself, too, in his treatment of Kageyama. It's not something he prides himself on, but it's just easier to go with the flow and go where the current takes him.

Truly, Kunimi doesn't hate Kageyama. Not the way Kindaichi does; not the way the rest of the school has been conditioned into feeling, fed and fattened by rumors and gossip. There's no love lost between them, certainly, but Kunimi cannot bring himself to _hate_ the boy—even if he does deserve the ire.

_It's our fault, too, you know, _he wants to say to Kindaichi sometimes. But he knows his friend will not listen, and it will cause nothing but unnecessary discord between the two of them. Their volleyball team is ripping at the seams as it is—they don't need anymore drama. _We've known Kageyama since our first year. We should know, better than anyone, that his head is full of rocks. He thinks he's right because we're not making it clear what's wrong. We're not trying hard enough to sort things out._

What _are_ they doing, then?

Kunimi sees the way people treat him. It's mildly terrifying, actually, how rumors can spiral out of control so rapidly. Why do all these people even hate him? _They're_ not the ones he's yelling at on the court. He bets most of them don't even know the half of it. They're so eager to ignore the Kageyama of the past, and demonize the Kageyama of the present. It's so easy to hate Kageyama, and while Kunimi is fond of taking the easy road, this one is paved by lies and poison and misguided intentions.

When Kageyama surprises them all today by taking Kindaichi's needs into consideration, some sort of hope blooms in Kunimi's heart.

"What was that all about?" Kindaichi says on the way home. "The King... actually listening to us?!"

"Don't be so over-dramatic," Kunimi replies shortly. "Isn't this what you always wanted?" _What _we _always wanted?_

"Yes! No! Uh..."

"Well, which is it?"

"I doubt it's for real." Kindaichi dodges the question with such ease that Kunimi wonders if he even realizes. "He's nothing but an arrogant, stuck-up King."

_Is he? Or is that just what you want him to be? _Kunimi nods slowly. He can imagine how Kindaichi must feel. He's spent the most time and effort out of all of them in painting Kageyama as an irredeemable despot. It must be easier now, to just keep thinking that rather than having his entire viewpoint uprooted.

"You wanna get some snacks?" asks Kindaichi.

"Yeah, sure. We ran out of salted caramel candies at home anyway."

They're browsing the snack section when a group of giggling girls come in. It's them, Kunimi realizes with a jolt. Shiroma's group. He doesn't know if she's with them, but it doesn't matter.

Beside him, Kindaichi falls silent as they begin to talk. They can hear everything they're saying—they're standing on the opposite side of the shelf.

"Did you hear the latest news about Chujo-chan? From class 1-3?"

"Oh my god! Spill!"

"The one dating a high school boy?"

"Yes! Reina-chan told me that she saw Chujo-chan's boyfriend kissing a high school girl!"

"Ahaha! Oh my god! That's hilarious! Does she _know_?"

"No wonder her boyfriend cheated on her. Did you see that fat whore's face? Full of pimples—she looks like onigiri with bonito flakes!"

Kindaichi glares at the shelf. "How can they say that about a classmate?" he hisses to Kunimi. "I bet they don't know her at all."

Kunimi's brows raise to his hairline. Hypocrisy. He loves Kindaichi, really, but hypocrisy is inescapable.

Shiroma's voice carries above all of them. "I'm gonna get some potato sticks. Stay here."

"Ahaha! You're gonna get fat, Yubin! Just like Chujo-chan!"

"Please. As if I would ever let myself go like that."

Before Kunimi and Kindaichi can even think about evacuating, Shiroma rounds the corner and heads straight for them. "Excuse me," she says when they don't move. "You're blocking the chips."

"Ah!" Kindaichi is quick to apologize. "Sorry."

Shiroma smiles. The scene reminds Kunimi of his cat cornering a mouse. As she moves to grab her desired snack, Kunimi can't help but quietly ask, "Why were you watching our match?"

"Oh? Am I not allowed to?"

"It's just strange."

Shiroma looks him straight in the eye. It's unsettling, and Kunimi has to actively force himself not to squirm under her gaze. The way she looks at him—it's as if she's seeing all the bad things he's ever done and condemning him for it. "Your King," she says in the end, making Kindaichi startle. "Is trying to hang up his crown."

Then she grabs her food and leaves.

The rest of the walk home, Kunimi notices that Kindaichi seems rather disquieted.

He doesn't need to be a genius to know what it's about.

* * *

It's not easy for Kindaichi to forgive Kageyama. The King has caused him a lot of grief, and he's not the type to let go of grudges easily. The school still whispers about Kageyama's tyrannical tendencies. Normally, Kindaichi actively joins in to belittle his tormentor, but lately, he's been slacking on that. Suddenly, it's much harder to do that. Guilt punches him in the stomach when he sees Kageyama struggling to improve his poor communication skills, only to turn around and spread poison about him.

About a week after Kageyama's first breaking out of character, Kindaichi stops spreading rumors. But he doesn't make any effort to quell them, even if his guilt continues to gnaw away at him. It's not his problem. Maybe he's better now, but Kageyama isn't his friend. Not anymore. He doesn't owe Kageyama _anything_.

When Kindaichi manages to slam a spike down into the opponent's court during a practice match, Kageyama looks strained. Kindaichi gives him a look, wondering what he wants.

"Nuff... Nice," Kageyama manages to bite out, somehow managing to sound vaguely threatening as well as encouraging.

Kindaichi feels his heart sink a little at his praise. "Uh... Yeah, thanks..."

Now Kunimi is looking at him, too, and he practically feel his best friend's disappointment. It makes him a little annoyed, actually. Kunimi isn't exactly innocent, and he's smart enough to know it.

"Can you stop looking at me like I'm some sort of criminal?" he says irritably in the locker rooms, when they're toweling themselves off.

Kunimi shrugs. "I'm not. If you're a criminal, then so am I. I just have a lot of things, on my mind, that's all."

"Then why do you keep trying to shoot a laser through the back of my head?"

A snort. "If I were, you'd be dead."

"What does that even _mean_?"

Kunimi pulls at his shirt to try and cool down. "We're not innocent."

"What?"

"We're not innocent. Kageyama can be a tyrant, a despot, a dictator... But at the end of the day, he's not spreading rumors about us. Honestly," Kunimi sighs, "I don't have any moral high ground to stand on, and neither do you."

Kindaichi hangs his head. "Yeah. I know." He chuckles weakly. "But you didn't spread any rumors. That was all me."

"I let you. I might as well have. Maybe if I'd bothered to stop you, things wouldn't have gotten so bad." Another sigh. "I'm sure you've noticed, but Kageyama's trying to fix it. So I don't see why we can't try, too."

"... Alright. I'm sorry."

"Why are you saying it to me? We're supposed to say it together to him."

Kindaichi looks at him. "I mean for dragging you along." When Kunimi blinks in surprise, he laughs bitterly. "What—you didn't think I realized? That you were against this the whole time? I just... didn't care. I just wanted to make him hurt, too. I'm sorry I disregarded you like that."

Kunimi's throat bobs. "It's alright. Now," he slaps Kindaichi's shoulder with his towel, "Are we apologizing or what?"

"Yeah, yeah. Honestly, I just can't believe some gossip girl saw it before we did."

"Shiroma-san? She's the observant kind."

"What?"

"She's a person who moves rumors along—not starts them. It seems she's graduated from starting the underwear rumor."

Kindaichi flusters. "I told you not to mention that ever again!"

Kunimi grins. "Really? I don't recall. Maybe you should run me through the details again, so I don't forget next time."

"Asshole!"

* * *

They catch Kageyama by surprise by staying after school for practice. He doesn't get it. Kindaichi and Kunimi _never_ stay—they always go home straight away. His grip on the ball tightens as the pair approach him. He's not the best in social situations—he has enough self-awareness to realize—but even he can tell that there has been nothing but animosity between them for the longest time.

"Hey, Kageyama," Kunimi says, exchanging a glance with Kindaichi. "We have something to say."

Kageyama blinks at them. He can guess—probably something about being a King, or a tyrant, or a dictator...

To his surprise, they bow their heads to him.

"We're sorry."

"Wha... What?"

"It was me who started all those rumors," Kindaichi admits, rubbing the back of his head regretfully. "It just—gah, I don't know. It was easier than..." He trails off, but Kunimi takes over.

"You never realized what you were doing wrong. We should have made it clear to you."

"I-I." This is the first time they've ever heard him stammer so uncertainly, and it shows on their faces. "Um, I'm sorry, too!" Kageyama blurts out, hastily bowing his head. "For being... a King..."

"You're not a King," Kindaichi says automatically, and Kageyama's eyes widen. "I... At least, you're trying not to be one anymore. And... coming from you, that's... I know it's not easy."

"We all did a lot of things wrong," Kunimi states what they're all thinking. "And... well, we're ready to start over. If you are."

Kageyama looks at them, emotion bubbling in his chest. He remembers his first year with them. They'd been close, and he used to regularly invite them over to his house. "I missed you guys," he admits.

Kindaichi bites his lip so hard that Kageyama thinks he sees blood. "Dammit...! We missed you, too, you dense brick!"

"Can we please not cry," Kunimi requests. "Please?"

But Kindaichi is already well on his way, and Kageyama wonders why he's particularly emotional about this. Kageyama, for one, is just glad to have his friends back. But from the way Kunimi just lets Kindaichi sniffle and quietly cry without further complaint, he probably knows why.

Shyly, Kageyama holds out the ball to them. "Can we practice?" Then he remembers the way they fiercely opposed him the last time he asked this of them, and recoils. "Ah, you don't have to—"

"Shut up," warbles Kindaichi, snatching the ball from him. "Of course we'll practice with you!"

Kageyama digs in his pockets for a tissue and hands it to him.

* * *

In the days that follow, Kindaichi becomes a firefighter that puts out any unpleasant rumors of Kageyama. People openly call him out on it—labeling him a hypocrite and a Kageyama apologist—but he just doesn't _care_. Shiroma can see it in his eyes as he threatens to sock a guy one when he's rude about it. He's making up for his misdeeds, and she'll never admit it out loud, but it's admirable of him.

He's broken free of the system—all three of them have—while she remains trapped in the centre.

Shiroma knows she isn't a good person. But she's a big spider in a web of lies, and it's all she's ever known.

Almost fondly, she looks over to where Kageyama, Kunimi, and Kindaichi are sitting at together. The Junior High Athletics Meet in June is coming up, and they're excitedly discussing strategy at the table.

"Yubin!" Yoneda calls impatiently from their table. "What are you doing?"

Shiroma gives her best friend her best smile as she sits down. "Oh, nothing."

_I guess I'm just a little envious._

She hopes they will remain friends after middle school.

But judging by the smiles on their faces, she has nothing to worry about.

* * *

_**A/N: Funnily enough, the OC I used here does have quite an extensive backstory and a further story, one that explains why she has taken her mother's last name instead of her father's. But none of that will be revealed here, because this is a Kitaichi Boys fic, not a Shiroma Yubin fic.**_


End file.
